


Regeneration, Rebuild

by makot0naegi



Series: Danganronpa 21 [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Absent Parents, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Adoption, Bad Cooking, Birth, Can be Read Without Prior Series Knowledge, Childhood Memories, Children of Characters, Dissociation, Engagement, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fever, First Kiss, Food Poisoning, Friendship, Future Fic, Future Foundation (Dangan Ronpa), Gifts, Healthy Relationships, Kyoko compares her newborn daughter to a piece of ham, LGBTQ Themes, Loss of Parent(s), Multi, One Shot Collection, Post-Dangan Ronpa 3: Hope Arc, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sexual Humor, Shipping, Snow, Stuffed Toys, Swearing, Therapy, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vomiting, Weddings, i wrote this instead of doing my schoolwork, questionable parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-09 05:44:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16443989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makot0naegi/pseuds/makot0naegi
Summary: When it comes to the aftermath of the of the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event, the Survivors are left with no choice but to rebuild what it is that has been broken. In doing so, they keep a flickering flame of hope alive as the new world blossoms before their very eyes. Even they can't help but wonder what will become of this world.MOST RECENT ONE-SHOT:The Origin of Hope - After nine agonizing months of waiting, the time has finally come for Kyoko and Makoto Naegi-Kirigiri to meet their daughter for the first time... and they are terrified.





	Regeneration, Rebuild

**Author's Note:**

> Makoto and Kyoko have been married for two years now, and are already expecting their first child.

April 9th, 1 A.M., Tokyo

This had been a bad decision after all.

The moment the taxi came to a stop, a wave of fatigue crashed in to her and it dawned on her what a stupid decision it had been to stay out so late while in such a state. Sitting there in the vehicle she felt as if she could do nothing but watch as her husband, slightly tipsy from all of the alcohol Yasuhiro had handed him throughout the evening; fumbled with his wallet in order to pay the taxi driver. On the other side of her sat her sister-in-law, who kept eyeing nervously as if she could tell that something was going to happen. As far as she knew, nothing was going to happen. Even so, the girl would not stop staring.

“Are you okay, Kyoko?” Komaru prodded, raising an eyebrow at the older woman. The moment she spoke the words, Makoto turned his attention away from his wallet to scrutinize the details of his wife’s face. Ever since she’d entered her ninth month of pregnancy with their first child, Makoto had been the biggest fuss pot. When he wasn’t working, he dedicated ninety-five percent of his time to making sure that she was comfortable and well. To most this would have been sweet, but to Kyoko who considered herself to be incredibly independent, all of this fussing was a nuisance. She knew his heart was in the right place, but honestly she would have preferred to have been left alone when she was experiencing strong symptoms.

“Yeah, are you okay? You look really tired. We should have left earlier. Are your feet okay? Do you want me to massage them again when we get in to the house?” Makoto babbled, an expression of concern carving its way in to his face. All of the sudden his eyes widened. “Wait, you’re not having contractions again, are you?”

Hearing the words caused Kyoko to let out an involuntary sigh. Though she loved her husband dearly, she truly did think that he was getting far too worked up about her pregnancy. As far as she was concerned, she was perfectly fine — just incredibly exhausted after a night out at their friends’ wedding. “No, I’m not,” She answered firmly before transitioning to a murmur, “You know those last ones ended up just being a false alarm anyway…”

“That’s good. Really, though, are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, Makoto. I’m fine,” She assured him, forcing a smile. “Now not to be rude, but may you please pay the nice cab driver? I’d really just like to get in to bed.”

“Oh! Sorry, yeah, I can totally do that.”

Finally a moment’s rest while Makoto pulled out the appropriate amount of money to hand to the driver and thanked him for his service. They then wished him a good night and began to climb out of the car one by one, of course with Makoto going first so that he could help his pregnant wife. Half-gratefully and half-grudgingly, Kyoko accepted Makoto’s hand as she scooched out of the vehicle and stood on her own two feet. Merely standing on them reminded her of how unbearably sore and swollen they were, as well as the extra weight she was carrying in her middle. Perhaps she should have worn comfortable shoes that Kanon had told her to wear, rather than the heels that Aoi, Toko, and Komaru had pulled off so flawlessly. At least their feet didn’t look like they had been forcibly stuffed in to the shoes. Kyoko could admit that that was something she was envious of. 

“Oh god, I am so ready to lie down…” Kyoko complained, placing one of her gloved hands on her stomach. Fortunately for her, her lively child had quieted down within the last few hours. This gave her more of a chance to relax and enjoy herself, as typically the child was fond of kicking and hitting every part of her womb as if they were a one-man band. 

“That tired, huh?” Komaru inquired as the taxi driver began to pull away. Without hesitating, Komaru took her sister-in-law’s arm so she could help her up to the front porch of the home they all shared.

“Exhausted… I truly am glad to have been in attendance of Kanon and Yasuhiro’s wedding; however, I underestimated what a number it was going to do on me…” She sighed, adjusting the flower decoration that had been placed in her hair. “My body feels physically quite tired, but emotionally I feel quite restless.” 

“How about we run you a bath when we get inside then?” Makoto suggested as the three of them began their trek towards the front door of the house. “You know, to soothe the aching parts of your body and maybe help you relax a little emotionally, too.”

The thought of a warm soapy bath for her to soak in made Kyoko want to sprint inside. She was just so tired of feeling so off, getting absolutely no sleep, being unable to do anything for herself… She was just so tired of all of it. If she could have a few minutes to herself in a bubble bath, that would soothe all of her frustrations. Even if it was for but a moment.

____________________________________________________________________________

She couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across her face as she watched her husband. 

He had placed himself on the edge of the tub, still in his suit from the wedding, and was running his hand back and forth through the water to make sure it was the perfect brand of warmth. Despite his half-lidded and sleepy eyes, he had refused to allow her to do anything for herself aside from undressing herself and putting on a housecoat. Aside from that, she was allowed to sit on the closed toilet lid as she waited for him to adjust the faucets to the correct temperature.

“I appreciate you doing this for me, Makoto,” She mumbled softly, tucking a strand of her lavender hair behind her ear. “I can tell how fatigued you are, and yet you are still taking the time to care for me. You’re going to be a great father.”

Upon seeing the smile and blush that crossed Makoto’s face, she couldn’t help but giggle. He had always been the type to get easily flustered, but that never seemed to make it any less adorable to her. 

“It’s nothing, really,” He assured her as he moved to adjust the left faucet again, clearly trying to make it so that the water wasn’t so chilly. “But thank you. I’d really like to believe what you say, but I guess we’ll have to wait for the little one to pop out to truly know.”

Pushing herself to her feet, Kyoko moved swiftly to sit on the side of the bathtub with him. Carefully she used her hand to cup his face and turn it towards her, her eyes full of tenderness and love as she stared at him. “I told you already, I always have multiple outcomes in mind in every scenario. With this baby, I know that within every outcome, you’re the father I had always dreamed of having for my child.” Ever so gently, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek, causing his face to flush even more. Even after going all the way, he still responded bashfully to her romantic gestures. It was like a charm of his that no matter what never seemed to fade. “Thank you for your help, but now I’d like to offer some help to you too, Makoto…”

“O-Oh…” Makoto muttered, “What do you intend to help me with?”

“Taking care of yourself. Get some rest, Makoto.” She replied, moving his light brown hair out of the way so she could plant yet another loving kiss on her husband’s forehead. “I’ll be alright from here on out. If I need anything, I’ll yell for you.”

Despite her claims that she would be alright, the brown-haired man looked skeptical that this would in fact be the case. The frown that was plastered on his face seemed to be enough evidence of that. 

“I promise I will be okay. Komaru is just across the hall, so if anything goes wrong, I’m sure she’ll hear it. You may come check on me if you wake up and I am still not in our bed.” She added, hoping that this would be enough to convince her obviously drained husband that he needed to rest. In spite of his worries, she was fairly certain that she could handle being on her own for fifteen minutes. 

“... Okay,” He gave in, pushing a hand through his hair. “Seriously, though, if there’s a problem, yell as loud as you can and I’ll come running.”

Kyoko didn’t bother to try and suppress her giggle. “I don’t doubt it.” 

One last time she leaned over and kissed him, making sure it was charged with all of the love she was feeling for him within that moment. He reciprocated gratefully before pulling back and murmuring his goodnights and his nightly “I love you”. Then, just as clumsily as he had done everything since they had arrived in their home, Makoto left the bathroom and shut the door lightly behind him. Finally, Kyoko was left in peace. As the door clicked shut behind her, she let out a gentle sigh and began to disrobe, eager to submerge herself within the soapy pool. Ever so carefully she stepped inside of the tub and lowered herself down, feeling the weight in every part of her body. Her legs seemed to take the worst of it, but by now she was accustomed to this struggle. After all, it had been nine months that she had been putting up with it.

“You know, little one, you really are difficult to work with sometimes…” She murmured, knowing that by then, the child would be able to recognize the sound of her voice. As she continued to mumble to her child, she couldn’t help but smile. “But you needn’t worry, I still love you, even if you’re difficult. I know I’m difficult sometimes too.”

The child gave no response. Not that she had expected one, anyway. Around eleven o’clock during the reception, she had been fairly certain that they had drifted off to sleep. The banging around had stopped and all movement had become the occasional soft kick as they dreamed. Not that that bothered Kyoko any 一 she tended to get a sinking feeling of dread if the child stopped banging around for too long. In the past it had never meant anything as they had always come back swinging, but in truth Kyoko was absolutely terrified of this baby. It was so fragile and small, and it depended on her for everything. If she managed to screw one thing up badly enough, she risked causing great damage to her baby. This had always been her biggest fear about pregnancy and motherhood, and despite being pushed in to this situation by pure chance, she was still incredibly terrified. Not that she would show it, of course.

“I’m excited to meet you soon,” She continued as she eased herself further in to the bath, ignoring the completely random pounding of her own heart. “But I’m also frightened. Are you frightened too? I hope not. No desire of mine is stronger than the desire of making sure you are able to feel safe with me.” 

She paused for a moment as if to think of something else to say, only to find herself distracted by a dull pain she felt within her stomach. For a split second she felt a surge of fear that something was happening, but it felt more like indigestion than it did contractions. She couldn’t help but frown, thinking that she was going to be in and out of the bathroom for the rest of the night.

“Not fond of the caterer at Auntie Kanon and Uncle Hiro’s wedding, were we?” She muttered, willing herself not to feel so betrayed by a fetus who had no idea what she was even talking about. As if to express sympathy, she began to rub gentle circles on her stomach with one of her hands. “That’s terrible, really, but I suppose this is how it’s going to have to be. I suppose it could be worse.”

____________________________________________________________________________

It was worse. So, so much worse.

Indigestion had been a gross misdiagnosis. She had no idea how long it had been since Makoto had left her to take her bath, but within that time the dull ball of pain bouncing around in her stomach had turned in to intense cramps in her lower stomach that came in twinges at first but then only seemed to increase in duration. Of course, that was only the pain she was feeling in her stomach. The pain also seemed to have progressed to her lower back, making her feel as if it was being squeezed tightly. Each and every time she would tough it out until it hit its peak and subsided, but by that point it didn’t take her detective skills to know that she was most definitely having contractions. 

“God… damn it…” She choked out quietly, not wanting to disturb anybody else in the household despite having been told to do so if there were any issues. “T-That hurts…” 

She swallowed hard, cautiously reaching a hand down to completely confirm her suspicions. Ever so gingerly, she placed her burnt hand on her stomach and felt it. If her baby bump was soft, she was experiencing a false alarm again. If it was hard, then she was undoubtedly in labour and needed to shout for help. She touched around the bump on her stomach as the pain caused her jaw to clench and tears to spring forth to her eyes, although the tears could have been more from fear than from pain. At this point, she didn’t know. All she knew was that her suspicions were confirmed as she felt the firmness of her belly. She was in labour.

“Nngh…” She whimpered, willing the contraction to fade so that she would be able to call out for help as effectively as possible. Despite her internal pleas, it persisted, so she found herself with no choice but to shriek like hell and scare the daylights out of her husband and sister-in-law. “MAKOTO!” She screeched, feeling the pain continue to intensify as she gripped the side of the tub as a way to process the throe.

She did not have to wait more than thirty seconds for two cries of her name and the thundering footsteps. Just as promised, Komaru and Makoto were awake and shouting and fretting. The two wasted no time as they flung the door open in desperation in order to get to her on time.

“Kyoko?” Makoto demanded as he rushed to the edge of the bathtub, a mixture of fear and concern swirling in his heart so obviously that it showed on his face. When he approached, he placed his hand on hers in an effort to provide comfort. “Kyoko, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“I fear I’m in labour.” She answered, noticing that the knuckles on her right hand had turned white from gripping the edge of the bathtub so tightly. “I think these are real contractions. The bump is firm.”

“What does the firm bump have to do with anything?” Komaru inquired, but Makoto waved off her question.

“Now’s not the time for those kinds of questions, Komaru,” He scolded. It was unlike him to be irritable, but he tended to get that way sometimes when he was in a state of stress or panic. If it wasn’t irritability it was fainting, and in this scenario Kyoko would take her husband’s frustration in a heartbeat. “Just go get Kyoko some clothes and grab the baby bag from our bedroom. Hurry!”

“Oh! Right, okay, yeah I’ll do that!” She replied, turning to sprint out of the door and continuing to shout as she ran out of the room. “Don’t you worry, Kyoko, everything’s going to be fine!”

She had not even a moment alone with Makoto before he bursted in to a flurry of questions as he stroked her hair, trying to convince her that she was much more alright than she actually was.

“Do you know how far apart your contractions are? Has your water broken yet?” Makoto questioned, offering her his hand so he could assist her in standing on her own two feet. As he helped her find the strength to pull herself to her feet, he continued to babble. “Are you doing okay? What do you need me to do for you?”

“I don’t know…” She whimpered, biting down on her lip so hard that she had begun to taste copper. She felt herself grip Makoto’s hand even tighter as she rode out the contraction, fearing the idea of tumbling back down if she didn’t keep a death grip on his hand. “I don’t know any of it. I am severely in pain and I just need you right now. For once in my life, I do not have a clue what I am doing.” 

Makoto’s expression seemed to soften as he stared back at her, his free hand moving to cup her face. “Hey, it’ll be alright.” He told her softly, expressing tenderness as openly as he possibly could just so she would feel even a little comforted by his presence. “Komaru will be back in here any minute, and then we’ll get you off to the midwives and we’ll have this baby.”

“Will you stay with me while I’m delivering?” 

She hated hearing the way her voice shook when she asked the question. It had been a long time since she had felt this afraid, and though she knew she couldn’t help herself, she still felt a burning anger within her chest that despised the sensations of uneasiness. She and Makoto had been together five years and although in some areas she had grown, others still had a tight grasp upon her. Finding the courage to depend on someone else for comfort and safety was one of those areas that she didn’t quite have a hold of yet.

“Of course,” He promised as he squeezed her hand gently, “I’ll stay right at your bedside, holding your hand and cheering you on the whole time.”

“T-ThaーAah!” She screamed, her free hand moving to touch the bump on her stomach. Almost as if perfectly on cue, she felt a huge gush of fluid run down her legs and join the now-used bath water. “Oh god. Oh god, oh god.”

“It’s okay, Kyoko. You’re okay. Just c’mere, I’ll dry you off and it’ll be okay.” He tried to soothe, although she could begin to feel the tremors in hands that she knew came from nerves. As he began to help her out of the bathtub and ignore the fluid continuing to run down her legs, he turned his head towards the door and began to shout. “Komaru, hurry up!” 

“Hold on a second, I’m just grabbing something to wear. She’s not that far along yet, is she?” The younger girl called back, likely rifling through the drawers of their dresser in search of clothes that would fit well for baby delivery within the next few hours. 

“Her water is broken!” Makoto shot back, the panic beginning to show in his voice. “I don’t know how to deliver a baby, so I won’t be able to do it in the backseat of a car. We need to be heading out soon!”

“Oh god, okay!” Komaru yelled back, her footsteps thundering through the hall as Makoto continued to wipe Kyoko down with a towel. As she found herself standing in the doorway, she continued to speak a little too loudly. “I’ve got the clothes and the baby bag. Is she ready?”

“I have no contractions currently in progress,” Kyoko found herself mumbling, willing them to not return until she was good and ready for them. “So I guess you could say that I am. Let’s hurry and get this done so we can go soon… I do not know how much longer the little one will want to stay where they are.”

“Good, good…” Her husband muttered underneath his breath, waving his sister in to the room with the clothes so he could help her dress herself. “Don’t worry, Kyoko, we’re going to take care of you. Everything will be okay.”

“Alright Makoto… I trust you.”

____________________________________________________________________________

April 9th, 6:30 AM, Tokyo

As another contraction squeezed its through her belly and lower back, a scream erupted from deep within Kyoko’s lungs. Following her removal from the bathtub, she had since been driven to a makeshift hospital of sorts in which she found herself in the company of about a dozen eager midwives. Each and everyone of them was taking great care in looking after her, helping her work through her contractions and controlling her breathing. One of the younger ones had even taken to dabbing her incredibly sweaty forehead with an icy cool cloth.

“You’re okay, Kyoko. You’re okay.” Makoto soothed from her side, petting her head with one hand as he allowed her to restrict the blood flow in the other. Though she knew deep down he meant well, she found herself swatting him away so she could concentrate on what her body and her baby were attempting to tell her. 

“Alright, Mrs. Naegi,” The eldest midwife said in a voice that sounded like that of a game show announcer. “You’re getting fairly dilated, so this baby is going to start making its way out soon.”

All urges that Kyoko felt about correcting her on the inaccuracy of her surnames washed away at the panicked thought of actually delivering her baby. Though she had already been through six and a half hours of suffering, the thought of delivering soon was absolutely terrifying. She’d had nine months of reading baby books, going to parenting classes, and collecting advice from other mothers and yet she still felt completely unprepared. Did she even remember what she was supposed to do? How was she supposed to breathe? How hard did she have to push? 

“I don’t think I can do this.” She whimpered, knowing that her hand was shaking Makoto’s as she trembled. She found the reaction incredibly embarrassing, but as far as she was concerned she was already at her lowest moment. Drenched in sweat with matted hair and mascara tracks from the make-up she never had the chance to wipe off was, predictably, not the best look for her. “Is there any way we can do this later?”

“Sorry, sweetheart.” The older midwife hummed as she separated Kyoko’s legs and continued to examine her progress. “That ain’t really how birth works. Besides, you’re a little too far along to be quitting now. From what I can tell…” She paused, continuing to scrutinize the details and make Kyoko feel awkward. “You’ll likely be ready within the next thirty minutes.”

“T-Thirty minutes?!” She choked out, her violet eyes as wide as dinner plates. As she began to try and process the words she found herself looking over at Makoto with pleading eyes. Eyes that begged him to help her in some way, anyway he could. Unfortunately however, Makoto appeared to be just as stunned as she was. He’d seemed relatively calm this whole time, maybe this was the part of the process where it would dawn on him just exactly what was about to happen.

“I-It’ll be okay,” was all he managed to sputter out, obviously still in shock from the news. “You can do it.” 

Despite Makoto’s efforts to pacify her, Kyoko knew that she just wasn’t going to be able to keep herself under control. Squeezing her husband’s tightly and squeezing her eyes shut even tighter, Kyoko began to cry. It was a soft sort of crying, with quiet sobs accompanied only by tiny gasps for breath. If she had to be honest, she had no idea what she was even crying for or about. She was just… crying, letting her frustrations out with one tear after another. How did anyone expect her to be prepared to have a child? She was only twenty-six and had only been married for two years. They had wanted to wait. He had promised her that they could wait. 

Although it hadn’t been his fault, she couldn’t stop herself from feeling angry. And sad. And scared. Out of everything she was experiencing within those moments, her emotions were taking the biggest toll on her. All she found she could do was whimper, laying there as Makoto attempted to wipe away her tears and soothe her anxieties.

“I can’t do this…” She hiccuped, staring up at him with tear-filled eyes. “I-I’m… I’m scared, Makoto…”

“You’re scared?” He parrotted, blinking at her as if he were stunned to hear that the great Kyoko Kirigiri even felt fear in the same way he did. “What are you scared about?”

“Everything!” She wailed, swiping at her wet eyes. At any other moment it would be so hard to admit these weaknesses to her husband, but right now she was beyond vulnerable. “What if I can’t do it? What if something goes wrong? What if the baby’s not healthy? There’s too many possible scenarios, and I don’t know which one is right.”

Squeezing her eyes shut tightly once again, she let out another small sob. She didn’t have the heart to even look at her husband, fearing that she might see the same look of disappointment her grandfather used to give her when she displayed herself this freely. She knew she shouldn’t, but the pain and distress were like an overwhelming ocean in which she drowned. There simply wasn’t a way in which she would make it out of this without showing her true colours. The hot tears continued to slip out of her eyes and travel down her cheeks as she laid in the bed, her heart pounding in her ears. She thought there to be nothing that could drive her out of her panic, not until the familiar sensation of Makoto’s hand brushed against her cheek and his calling of her name. If it hadn’t been for those two sensations, she might not even have opened her eyes.

The moment she wearily laid her eyes on him once again, he was right there with his hand still on her face. “Kyoko…” He mumbled, “Do you trust me?”

She found herself nodding frantically, trying desperately to keep her focus on him as another contraction threatened to take hold of her. “Of course I trust you.” She replied, not bothering to blink back her tears as she stared at him. She had no idea where she was going with this, but was holding on to the hope that it would actually be something that would help her in the long run. He had always been there for her, she had no reason to doubt him now. 

“Then please believe me when I say this… you can do this. I know you can do this. You are the strongest and most brilliant woman I have ever met, and I know that you are going to be the best mother that you can possibly be. There is no part of me that doesn’t believe in you, so there shouldn’t be any part of you who lacks faith in yourself either. Just this once, ignore all of the scenarios going through your head and focus on just the one: the one where everything is fine. This is going to be our scenario that’s real.” He blinked thoughtfully at her for a moment before proceeding, “Can you do that for me, Kyoko?”  
Not giving it another second of thought, Kyoko nodded. It was at that moment another contraction had begun to squeeze her body ,but she had no intention of letting that stop her from talking. She had to let him know. “Thank you, Makoto.” She choked out, sniffling a little as she swiped at her eyes once again. “I think I might be ready now, just… promise me that you will stay by my side.”

“Always.” 

Feeling grateful she opened her mouth to speak once again, but the contraction bore down on her in ways she could barely describe. The whole thing seemed to consume her torso as she screamed out in pain, clutching Makoto’s hand so tightly in hers that she was afraid that she might break some of the bones in his fingers. Curses spewed out of her mouth as she tried to ride it out, droplets of sweat slipping down her forehead and warning her about just how much she was exerting herself. The midwives seemed to react with surprise upon this, with many of them scrambling about to make last minute preparations. 

“Oh god, this kid is coming out now!” Kyoko yelped, still crushing her husband’s hand with a death grip. She couldn’t stop herself from continuing to screech in agony, biting down on her lip so hard that she had begun to taste copper once more. “Goddammit! Goddammit! Makoto, goddammit!”

Even with her attempts to compress his hand, Makoto’s composure barely wavered aside from a minor wince. “You’ve got this Kyoko!” He reassured her before glancing back at the midwives who had begun to surround Kyoko’s open legs. “Is she right? Is it coming?”

“She’s fully dilated.” The eldest woman reported. There was a look of determination plastered on her face as she stared back at Makoto. Perhaps his speech might have inspired her as well, Kyoko thought as she tried not to writhe around in the severest form of suffering. If she hadn’t received the speech from Makoto but a moment or two prior to this, she was sure her conclusion would have been that she was on the brink of death. This was a type of suffering that she had never experienced throughout the entirety of her twenty-six years of life, and it was one she was not sure she would ever want to experience after this incident again. One heir would be enough for the Kirigiri family anyway, right? 

The attention would fall quickly back on her from there, as one of the younger midwives patted her thigh gently. “We’re ready to get you pushing now, alright Mrs. Naegi? So on the count of three, we’ll need you to push, alright?”

Kyoko could manage nothing more than a pained “mm-hmm” before going back to her melody of shrieking. Somewhere along the way she thought she might have heard Makoto encourage her to destroy his hand with more compression should she need it, but at this point she could barely hear anything over the sound of her own voice. She let out one more howl as she waited for the instructions, and as soon as the midwives began to call out the numbers, she prepared herself to push like hell. The moment she heard the bellowing of the last number, she focused on putting as much of her energy as she possibly could in to pushing to get the baby out.

“You need to be pushin’ harder, hon!” The eldest midwife encouraged, continuing to pat Kyoko’s thigh. “You’re pushin’ like you’re scared of somethin’, you need to push like you’re using the bathroom.”

“Don’t be afraid of defecating on the table,” Another added in a weirdly perky tone. “It’s perfectly okay! It means you’re using the right muscles.”

“We don’t give a shit about any shit!” The eldest giggled again, “Now come on sweetie, big pushes!” 

Listening to their kind but odd words of support, Kyoko expelled all of what she had in to pushing with ferocity. Sure, she might have felt like she was having her first child delivered by Nekomaru Nidai and Sonia Nevermind, but at the very least she was sure that things were going alright so far.

“Yeah, now she’s getting it!” A midwife whooped, “Those are some good pushes. If you keep that up, you should be done in no time.”

If Kyoko had had the strength to smile, she would have. It felt quite nice to be praised for her efforts, because god was it hard. So much energy was being used by just the simple act of pushing, and the fact that it would take more was just frustrating. It was all worth it, though, when she caught a glimpse of Makoto’s awed grin. 

“Did you hear that, Kyoko?” He squealed with childlike glee, “W-We’re going to get to meet our child soon!”

Hearing him say the words “our child” also made her want to smile. For one thing, it made her realize the reality of their current situation. After everything they’d been through, they had finally made it here — no longer were they in a position where they would be fighting for their futures, for their hope… Now they were living it, bringing new light into the world. She herself had become a vessel for her own hope and that in itself was a beautiful thing. If that weren’t enough, “our child” also meant joy. Joy on Makoto’s end for soon enough he would discover the sex of their baby. 

In all honesty, she knew that he didn’t mind whether or not it was a boy or a girl — he promised he’d love them no matter what — but he had been insistent on not knowing which it was when they had gone to get the ultrasound done. Being an advocate against secrets, Kyoko had objected to the element of surprise. So the two had compromised and said that Makoto would leave the room when the technician asked if they wanted to know the sex of the child, to ensure that each of them could have what they wanted. How delighted Kyoko had felt that day, knowing the way Makoto’s face would just light up when he discovered that their child was going to be a beautiful baby girl. At the time she felt as if she could barely wait, but at least now she knew that she was one step closer to that moment.

“Alright, take a quick break there hon.” 

Almost as if she’d been kicked, Kyoko finally released all of the air she had been holding in her lungs and gasped with both pain and relief. Deep down she knew there was still much more to come, but this momentary peace was to die for at this point. 

“You’re doing great, honey,” Makoto praised, patting her hand as if it hadn’t turned his own snow white. “That was a fantastic first push.”

She had not the breath to answer him, so instead she opted to offer him with a weak and frankly half-hearted grin. It was not her fault that she was in too much pain to process much else, but she still felt remorse for not being more responsive. Another contraction had already begun to spark within her abdomen and consume her being with its force. She let out another cry of pain as the midwives all began to scramble for her to start pushing again. It seemed as if she’d barely even had a moment’s rest before she had to get right back in there with the pushing! She’d only partially regained her breath, but it seemed she had no other choice than to keep going through the motions and push with all her might. Perhaps now might have been a good time to whip out the breathing exercises she had learned in her birthing classes.

“You’re doing so well, sweetie!” Makoto continued to praise as he stroked her thumb with his own gently. His eyes seemed to sparkle quite genuinely as he kept a firm grip on her hand and urged her along. The truth of his words had begun to show through him and his joyful smile, she could truly see that he believed in her. She really could do this if she put her mind to it, and she had his support the whole way through. She could do this. She continued to push once again, and just as before, finished off with a break. This was a rhythm she maintained for the next fifteen minutes or so, her whole body repeatedly seizing with the pain as she tried to force the child out of her womb. Still, she refused to give up. She kept her rhythm, only willing to stop when she was good and ready.

Another push, another break.   
Another push, another break.  
Another push, another break.  
Another push, another break.  
Another push, another break.  
Another push, a shorter break.  
Another push, another short break.  
Another push, another short break.  
Another push, an even shorter break.   
Another push, oh god there’s no time for a break!  
Another push, a baby’s cry. 

The relief upon hearing the sound was instant as Kyoko fell back, her whole body aching from the pressure she’d put on it. Finally, she could just relax and listen to the sound. The infant’s cry she’d been waiting to hear all morning.

That was the last thing Kyoko could remember before her whole world went dark. 

____________________________________________________________________________

“Kyoko. Hey, Kyoko, c’mon. Are you awake now?”

Darkness. Her world was still enveloped in darkness. Somehow it felt as if she didn’t have the strength to open her eyes, nor register the sound of the voice she was hearing. What… what happened? The last thing she could recall was this intense, surging pain and then this nearly inaudible wailing of an infant. Did she…? The confusion was enough to force her eyelids up, but only for a few minutes so she could steal a glance at the scene before her. When she did, her gaze met that of the speaker: her husband.

“Are you okay?” He asked in a voice so soft that she’d nearly missed what he’d said. As of that moment her vision was blurry, but she could make out the tears in his eyes. Why was he crying? His mouth was turned upward at the corners, shouldn’t that have meant that he was happy? What was going on?

“Y-Yes…” She sighed, her body barely willing itself to give that response. She was at the point where every blink felt as if it were too much effort. If that was the case, could she have been at the hospital? The ceiling would certainly check out if it were the hospital.

“I’m glad,” He muttered, moving to brush some of the hair away from her face. “When you passed out, I was worried about you. The nurses said it’d be fine, told me you were probably just exhausted… It seems like it’s safe to say that they were right.”

“Yes…” She repeated, with the same lack of enthusiasm as the first one. She paused for a moment, racking her brain for the right words. Then, she spoke. “Did I… did I do it?”

Immediately, Makoto’s smile became so much more powerful. He nodded excitedly, the tears in the corners of his eyes starting to spill down his cheeks with rapidity. “You did. Ten fingers, ten toes…” He paused for a moment, swiping at his eyes. “A beautiful baby girl. They say she’s perfectly healthy. Six point five pounds, twenty inches long… She… she kinda looks like you.”

“She’s a newborn, she probably looks more like a piece of ham than she does me.” Kyoko blurted out, her own bluntness not daring to fade in her groggy state. It was fortunate that Makoto didn’t take it personally — rather, he actually chuckled. “Did you hold her yet?”

“No, not yet.” Makoto giggled, still sniffling and wiping his eyes. “You didn’t spend six hours in labour just so I could be the first one to hold her. They said that we can see her whenever we want, so just let me know when you’re ready, okay?”

With newfound strength, she forced herself to sit up and tried her best to look awake. “I’m ready now, if you want to tell them.” She told him in her best perky voice, trying to act like she hadn’t felt half-drunk a mere minute ago.

“R-Really? Are you sure?”

“Really. I have had to wait nine months to meet my daughter, and I admit that I have been getting quite impatient. I feel as if I can’t wait another minute.” She assured him, trying to ignore all of the sensations her body was experiencing as she did something as minor as moving. The delivery must have really done a number on her, she thought. 

“Alright, I’ll… I’ll go get them!” He squeaked, wasting no time rushing past the curtain that had been used to shield Kyoko’s post-partum state from the rest of the world. The thought that a measly curtain had been the only thing hiding typically private parts of her body made her cheeks heat up with embarrassment, which only worsened once she considered that the whole building had probably heard her scream. There really was no winning for her in this scenario, was there? She’d just have to hope that she wasn’t too disturbing for the others to deal with, although she was sure she’d be thinking about it for a few days afterward. Fortunately, at that time she had no time left to contemplate it further for just as rapidly as he had left the room, Makoto had returned with one of the midwives and — oh god. 

A little pink bundle in the midwife’s arms. Immediately upon the sight of it, Kyoko felt goosebumps begin to prickle her skin. Was this even real? Was that really a baby — her baby — no, their baby… in the midwife’s arms? Without even thinking about it she felt her eyes start to fill up with tears as the pair (or trio, really) approached to hand the baby off to her mother. 

“Congratulations, Mrs. Naegi,” The midwife cooed as she moved to place the child in Kyoko’s arms. With ginger movements and a slight gasp upon seeing her face, she received her and positioned her in her arms carefully. “You are now the mother to a healthy baby girl.”

The moment the new mother’s gaze locked on to the little bundle, it was love at first sight. All of those maternal instincts that Kyoko had been longing to feel throughout the nine months of her pregnancy suddenly came rushing in a tidal wave. She couldn’t stop herself from starting to cry all over again, but at least this time she wouldn’t have to feel ashamed. After all, Makoto was already bawling his eyes out and he hadn’t even held her yet. The two of them could totally lack composure together.

“Hello, sweetheart…” She sobbed, looking down at the little bundle of joy in her arms. Sure, just as she’d predicted, the baby did look a little bit like an oversized piece of ham. That was a fact that no one was denying. But she also looked like the softest, sweetest creature in existence. The face was understandably quite fat, with an obvious pinkish red tint and firmly closed eyelids. Her skin looked soft to the touch, and on the top of her head she had the cutest little bit of fuzz. Light brown fuzz, just like Makoto had had in his own baby pictures. 

“She’s absolutely flawless,” Makoto hiccupped, once again unable to tame his own emotions. “I’ve never seen anything so perfect before in my life. Our little ray of hope. Our… our baby!”

Sniffling, Kyoko glanced over at her husband. She was trying hard not to allow her lips to quiver as tears spilled down her face silently. She didn’t want to cry too hard now, for this was an occasion for smiling. “What do you think we should call her? She has to have a name, after all.”

Quickly Makoto took a deep breath and swiped at one of his eyes, trying to act as if he wasn’t crying harder than a small child who had just skinned their knee. “If I remember correctly, we had… uh… Emiko, Maki, Mikan, Keiko, Nobuko, Seiko…” He began to list off the names, “We also talked about naming her after one of our moms.”

“Hmmm… I don’t know. None of the names we selected feel as if they fit her.” She sighed, stroking her child’s cheek with her gloved hand. It wasn’t so much a sigh of disappointment as it was a sigh of thoughtfulness as she mulled ideas over in her own head. “So really it’s down to Kazuko or Mami, if we choose either of them… But does she really look like a Kazuko or a Mami, either?”

“Tough to say,” Makoto remarked, “I think we can probably veto Mami off the bat, though. You and I really like it but uh… this little one’s grandmother did not. If she were still around she’d be kinda pissed at me for using that name. She always talked about how much she hated it.”

“So… Kazuko, then?” Kyoko questioned, raising an eyebrow at her husband. Though she was offering it to him without expressing any reservations, she would admit that it still felt wrong. If there was a name that fit their daughter, Kazuko didn’t seem like it was going to be it. Of course, just as quickly as she had suggested it, she realized Makoto probably wouldn’t say no otherwise if he thought that was what she wanted. It had been her mother’s name after all, and though she hadn’t known her well it would still be quite sentimental to her. She knew it would have felt wrong to him to suggest anything else for he feared dishonouring her memory.

“If that’s what you like, then absolutely.” He replied, looking down at their daughter thoughtfully. He seemed to grin a little bit as he watched her face, as if to try and give her some reassurance about her own name. 

“To be honest, I am not quite sure. It’s a beautiful name, that is undeniable, but… It just doesn’t fit, I suppose. I feel as if there’s something right in front of me that I’m not seeing.” She thought aloud, continuing to examine every detail of her newborn daughter’s face. The child did not seem to mind the ruckus going on around her, she simply kept right on sleeping like she had never slept before. Kyoko ended up glancing up at Makoto, hoping he might have an answer. Instead, however, he greeted her with a goofy grin that signalled the beginning of a potentially unfunny joke. One that she might have pretended to laugh at if she weren’t feeling so drained. 

“Hey, maybe we should call her ‘Hope’ or something,” He teased, chuckling slightly at the end as if to punctuate it. Despite the fact that this was, by all means, a joke — Kyoko couldn’t stop herself from seriously considering it. The idea may have been rooted in humour, but there was no possibility of denying how cute it was. Especially considering that they’d essentially been calling her that practically since conception.

“Like ‘kibou’ in English? That’s actually quite pretty.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Makoto’s eyes went wide. “W-Wait a second, babe, i was making a joke!”

“Huh?”

“I-I was only teasing. I-I’m sorry!”

“Oh.” Kyoko paused for a moment, pondering on the idea of the suggestion being a joke over in her head. Had it been half-sincere, or was it all just for humoristic purposes? “Do you not like that idea? Was it purely for the sake of being funny?”

“No, no, I do like it…” Makoto fumbled, although she could tell that it was a genuine fumble to make a comeback. He seemed more like he’d mislead her by accident, rather than having lead her astray on purpose... So this time, she’d let it slide. “It suits her, I think… Really well. I think that it could also mean a lot too. I mean, I know we’ve been calling her our little ray of hope, but if you think about it she’s more than just ours. It’s like she’s the hope for the new generation, for the world’s future. Having her name embody that could mean something not only to the world or to us… but to her, too. I don’t know… I guess I just thought it was funny at first because, y’know, Ultimate Hope…”

He finished off with another short laugh, causing her to roll her eyes. Though she appreciated her husband’s attempts to make her laugh, she needed to know that he was serious when it came to picking out a suitable name for their child. After all, they couldn’t just leave her unnamed forever. 

“Be serious for a minute,” She giggled, “Would you really want to call her Hope?”

He nodded with a grin from ear to ear. “I think I like the sound of it. Hope Naegi-Kirigiri. People can just call her ‘kibou’ or something if they have trouble pronouncing it.”  
“Hope Naegi-Kirigiri, huh…?” The words tumbled from her mouth so effortlessly as she stroked her daughter’s cheek with her thumb. Though she slept, the girl’s tiny mouth turned upward slightly at the feeling of the sleek leather on her face. “The heir to the Kirigiri Detective Clan, the beloved daughter of Makoto and Kyoko Naegi-Kirigiri… I like it… Hey, Makoto?”

 

“Yes, dear?” 

“How soon do you think we might be able to have more just like her?”

“Wait, H-HUH?!”


End file.
